Chapter 356. The Legend (3)

Chi-Woo wasn’t alone in his reaction. All the expedition team members widened their eyes with their jaws dropped. That was how unexpected Chi-Hyun’s sudden appearance was. The same went for Chi-Hyun. Chi-Hyun looked shocked as soon as he saw Chi-Woo and clenched his eyes shut like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Why are you here?!” Chi-Hyun stomped toward Chi-Woo and shouted menacingly. Chi-Woo began by breathing a sigh of relief. Though he hadn’t let it show much, he knew how terrible the situation was. He was about to release all his seals, and if Eshnunna hadn’t interrupted him, he might’ve met his brother in his rampaging state.

He didn’t know what happened, but everything changed with his brother’s appearance. That was how reassuring Chi-Hyun’s presence was. And now that his heart had calmed down to some extent, Chi-Woo wondered and asked, “That’s what I want to ask you. Why are you here?”

“What do you mean why? You know that I have been working outside,” Chi-Hyun replied. In their last call, Chi-Hyun had said he needed to go somewhere else, so Chi-Woo supposed that there must be something urgent for his brother to take care of.

“But still, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“That’s what I want to say to you. How—no, before that, how did you get here? The Sky Castle is in Sernitas’ territory.”

It appeared that Chi-Hyun had also secretly trespassed into Sernitas’ territory for some purpose. Instead of answering his question, Chi-Woo asked, “Besides that, where’s Mr. Ismile? Didn’t you leave with him?”

“I have separated from him for quite some time now because it was better to move independently. But no—that’s not even the important part,” Chi-Hyun answered all of Chi-Woo’s questions even while expressing his anger. “So, why are you here!”

“I-I came for the toharis…” Chi-Woo hastily said because Chi-Hyun looked ready to shake the answer out of him.

“Toharis?” Chi-Hyun’s glaring eyes shifted to the blazing firelight. “Why that all of a sudden?”

“It’s not sudden… You know how you told Ms. Yeriel to become stronger, so…”

Chi-Hyun’s expression turned menacing. “Did that stupid girl order you to get a tohari?” Chi-Hyun sounded like he would’ve beaten up Yeriel on the spot if she were here.

Chi-Woo quickly waved his hand and said, “No! No! That’s not it at all!” And seeing the chains hanging around Chi-Woo’s wrist dangle, Chi-Hyun realized what had happened. Though there were a lot of missing explanations, Chi-Hyun’s quick wits allowed him to connect the dots and figure out what had led Chi-Woo to the current situation. Though Chi-Hyun had told Chi-Woo to help Yeriel progress, he only meant helping her rise in tiers. But it appeared his stupid younger brother had looked to do beyond that and tried to help Yeriel awaken new powers instead of just progressing.

Of course, Chi-Hyun knew that a Mariaju hero followed a different trajectory from ordinary heroes, and that they would become a considerable asset once they were able to properly use their powers, especially in a world like Liber. And in the perspective of a legend like Chi-Hyun, ‘considerable asset’ meant something much grander and more enormous for ordinary heroes.

“Still…” Chi-Hyun clutched his forehead. He hadn’t imagined that he would see his brother in the middle of Sernitas’ territory, and on their Sky Castle at that. It was a mistake to not take away that damn Power to Rule the World from Chi-Woo earlier.

“…It would’ve been better if you had gone to the Demon Empire instead,” Chi-Hyun said. This was true. Against the Demon Empire, Chi-Woo’s destructive power was comparable to Chi-Hyun’s; and if he had moved with the Cassiubia League, there would’ve been more room for him to prove himself and take an active role. Perhaps things would’ve been different if Chi-Woo had already hit at least the Master tier, but right now, it was still too early for Chi-Woo to battle against the Sernitas.

“I did nothing wrong. I just did what you told me to do. Don’t yell at me,” Chi-Woo retorted.

Chi-Hyun closed his eyes exasperatedly as his brother blabbered on.

“Also, God Mamiya told me that he would look forward to the future if this mission succeeds!”

Chi-Hyun had a strong urge to punch his brother. Just one good punch. That was all he genuinely wanted. And while Chi-Hyun wrote down the characters for patience exactly 3,742 times at hyper speed in his mind, Yunael looked on with confusion.

Considering the legend’s personality, she thought the legend would definitely go, ‘Hm, what are all these pieces of trash doing here?’ and not show much interest in the expedition team. Instead, the legend was helping them and seriously worrying about them. Those who knew the relationship between Chi-Woo and Chi-Hyun remained calm, but the two who didn’t know were surprised. Perhaps unbelievably, the thought that Chi-Woo and Chi-Hyun could be blood-related never crossed their minds. They simply thought that Chi-Woo and the legend were close companions.

And while Chi-Hyun was despairing about the situation, Hawa gasped. She realized that the Sernitas had been inactive until then. They should’ve completed their analysis by now and initiated some transformation again. While they seemed to be attempting to do just that, something strange was happening. Those that had shattered into pieces of ice tried to reassemble, but kept falling apart as if they were obstructed by something.

—Error. Error. Error. Error. Error.

Those were the words they ended up spouting, and Chi-Hyun simply turned his head halfway and swung his elbow. Boom! The air trembled. Dozens of Sernitas crumbled. Chi-Hyun’s expression was bloodthirsty as he looked at the debris falling onto the floor. It felt as if he was telling them to shut up after being so loud. Thus, the Sernitas were forcefully silenced, and Chi-Woo looked at them with his mouth slightly agape. How could his brother do that so easily?

Then Chi-Woo suddenly gasped. He felt something hot inside his pocket. Chi-Hyun turned to him in surprise. “What is it? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Instead of answering, Chi-Woo fumbled through his pocket.

“What’s that?” Chi-Hyun asked when he saw the token.

“It’s…”

After hearing Chi-Woo’s explanation, Chi-Hyun’s expression changed. “Ah, is that so? You can go in and out like that?” His worried face looked completely different now. “Good. I was wondering how the hell I was going to get you out of this place, but that changes things.”

Then, Chi-Hyun declared, “Okay, so let’s take the toharis first.”

“Huh? Hyung?”

“What?”

“Well…I think it would be difficult to take them.”

Chi-Hyun snorted and didn’t even pretend to listen to Chi-Woo. He walked up to and stood in front of the brilliantly shining toharis.

“Be careful…” Chi-Woo swallowed his warning. As soon as Chi-Hyun approached them, the toharis’ fire seemed to calm slightly.

“I see…no wonder…you suffered for a long time…” Chi-Hyun didn’t grab the toharis right away. Instead, he talked to them and carefully stretched out his hand and stoke them. “You’ve done a lot…don’t worry so much…you’ll be going to a place where you’ll be much more treasured. It’ll at least be better than this castle…”

The more Chi-Hyun talked, the more the toharis’ heat and light dimmed. Eventually, their firelight went off entirely. Chi-Woo blinked fast in astonishment. What? Was Chi-Hyun an all-powerful magician? Chi-Hyun was easily doing things that Chi-Woo couldn’t do after much effort.

“A tohari is a fire that moves on its own will,” Chi-Hyun said and turned around while taking the toharis. “They are already so exhausted. You should’ve thought about appeasing them through conversation first. It was no wonder they wouldn’t respond well when you tried to grab them right away,” Chi-Hyun said in a scolding tone and looked to the ceiling. Then, he tapped into his mana.

“Prepare for some shock,” Chi-Hyun said. The next moment, Chi-Woo and the rest of the expedition team felt the air become heavy. There was pressure coming from all around them so that it became harder to breathe, and it felt as if their bodies were being tightly clutched. Now that Chi-Woo thought about it, he had felt the space tilt the moment the toharis turned off their lights. The areas behind his joints began to ache now, and he felt a force pulling him downwards around his belly button. Soon, he realized the reason behind this.

Boom! There was an ear-splitting bang coming from outside. An enormous shockwave swept across the cavity, and Chi-Woo’s vision shook up and down like he was standing in the middle of an erupting volcano or amid an earthquake. Yet the shaking subsided and passed in an instant. Furthermore, the area that the expedition team was standing in was relatively fine. Considering the power of the shockwave just now, this entire cavity should’ve completely crumbled while everything inside bounced around like a bouncy ball.

However, the expedition team had only felt a tremor and stood completely fine. The walls were hardly chipped or dented, as if this place alone operated on its own gravity and laws of physics.

“It’s done,” Chi-Hyun said. And the strong pressure that had been constricting their throats disappeared in an instant.

“What happened?”

“What do you mean?” Chi-Hyun said indifferently. “The whole internal fuel system broke down. What else do you think happened?”

Chi-Woo’s mouth gaped open. It was as if an airplane’s engine had gone off in the middle of a flight. In other words, the Sky Castle fell.

“Are you crazy? Are you planning to kill everyone!?”

“Do you think this piece of land is some meteorite in space?” Chi-Hyun retorted with a frown. It was more akin to them having fallen from the peak of a mountain.

Chi-Woo didn’t know what his brother did exactly, but it was impressive.

“Anyways, we have to go before the door disappears.” Chi-Hyun pointed out their limited time and urged the team. “Where’s the door that Mamiya opened?”

“It’s above, sir. At the top of the Sky Castle,” Hawa quickly answered and pointed to the ceiling. Chi-Hyun swung his arms around instead of answering, and as a result, cracks appeared on the ceiling like spider webs, and the ceiling came tumbling down. Chi-Woo tried to find an opening between the debris and felt something intangible wrap around his body. It was a familiar feeling, and before Chi-Woo could say anything, Chi-Hyun kicked off the floor.

Simultaneously, Chi-Woo felt himself getting pulled upwards—he wasn’t alone. Everyone was dangling in the air getting pulled by an invisible rope. Another ceiling appeared after that, but Chi-Hyun blew it away with a single punch. Just like that, they passed through the wide-open hole, reached the surface, and flew into the air.

“Brother-in-law sure is straightforward,” Evelyn commented while swaying like a piece of laundry fluttering in the air. Chi-Woo was too flustered to respond. He looked down in a daze and saw the huge mess below. The Sky Castle had come down from the clouds and created a massive crater on the ground. And that wasn’t all. Though they hadn’t been able to see anything when wandering the Sky Castle before, all sorts of different shapes and forms began to pop out. It was as if they had struck a packed bee hive. Chi-Woo wondered what would’ve happened if that entire group had rushed into the cavity space to fight the expedition team. It gave him the chills.

But it was fine now. His brother’s method was rough and simple, but just as effective. Because Chi-Hyun had forcibly dragged everyone with him across the air, the expedition team was able to reach the escape point before their enemies reached them. As soon as Chi-Hyun spotted a dim light, he dived down. Fortunately, instead of simply throwing them to the ground, he placed them down carefully. The portal looked much fainter than when they first came out of it, and it seemed like it would disappear any moment now. Judging by the commotion approaching all around them, the Swernitas seemed to be chasing after them.

“Okay, let’s talk later and go in first. Quickly!” Just in case, Chi-Woo pushed the team members into the portal one by one. “Hyung, hurry up too.” Chi-Woo grabbed Chi-Hyun’s arm and was about to go through the portal with his brother, but—

“…Huh?” There was a resistance halfway through. He tried to go farther, but it didn’t work. It was as if he was blocked by some invisible wall.

“What? What’s wrong with this?”

—He can’t go in.

A soft voice answered Chi-Woo’s question. It was Mamiya’s voice.

“What do you mean?”

Mamiya spoke slowly.

—The other person can’t pass through this door. I told you clearly before.

When opening this portal, Mamiya’s condition was that all of them had to come back without a single one missing. But that also meant that they couldn’t have one additional person. Chi-Woo came to the realization belatedly, but he found it hard to accept.

“No—” They were able to come all this way thanks to his brother, but they had to go without him? “How does that make sense?” Chi-Woo yelled in rage.

“Then what about the toharis!? They’re also living and moving!”

—Though a tohari is a living and moving fire, they’re far from complete lifeforms. Furthermore, since the toharis were your team’s reason for going on this expedition, the entry restrictions don’t apply to them.

Mamiya’s voice was soft but firm. It sounded like he wasn’t going to allow any exceptions.

“Ah damn it—it’s fine, sir!” Chi-Woo cried out. It didn’t seem like anything would change Mamiya’s mind, and he would simply be wasting time by trying anything else. But there was no way he would leave his brother alone here and return—not even on his deathbed would he abandon his brother. They lived and died together.

Mamiya read Chi-Woo’s thoughts and reiterated his condition.

—If you stay, then the rest of your companions also have to stay.

Chi-Woo stopped. He was completely trapped. Chi-Woo couldn’t be the only one staying among the seven. If he stayed behind, everyone had to do the same. That was the condition. Chi-Woo became speechless for a moment. If he was the only one staying behind, there would be no need to hesitate. But if the rest of the team also had to stay behind? All the expedition team members were already injured all over from the recent battle.

“It’s fine.” It was then Chi-Woo heard his brother’s voice. “That’s how Mamiya is. I didn’t expect much.”

It sounded like Chi-Hyun had expected this to happen.

“Hyung…!”

“Take this first.” Chi-Hyun forcibly opened Chi-Woo’s hands and stuffed the toharis into his grasp.

“Wait…!” Before Chi-Hyun could pull away, Chi-Woo clutched his brother’s hand tightly.

“Chi-Woo.” Chi-Hyun took a step forward and leaned toward Chi-Woo. Chi-Woo flinched. They were so close that their noses were almost touching. With their eyes locked, Chi-Hyun continued to speak.

“Listen carefully from now on,” Chi-Hyun said seriously, and Chi-Woo nodded. “I’ll be honest with you. After everything that happened, those guys won’t sit still.”

Yes. They were probably going to rush forward to kill them. And right now, they were in the middle of Sernitas’ territory. The moment their enemy got prepared, they would also deploy large-scale troops from the main base.

“If it’s just me, I would have no problem returning alive. Yeah, but…I’m not sure if I will make it in time,” Chi-Hyun said quickly. “So endure with all you have. You must stay alive at all costs and endure until I return. At worst, abandon Shalyh and escape to the Cassiubia League. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Chi-Woo looked confused. What was his brother going on about? He should stay alive until his brother returned? It should be the reverse. It was he who should be the one saying these words to his brother. What exactly did Chi-Hyun see in this place that he would be saying such words…?

“I know what you’re thinking, but no. It’s not your fault,” Chi-Hyun said, knowing what Chi-Woo was thinking. “I was already planning to destroy this castle and escape anyway. It’s just that I did it a bit earlier than I planned to. In other words, the result would’ve been the same whether you came to this place or not.”

The edge of Chi-Woo’s eyelids trembled. He didn’t know whether his brother was telling him the truth or lying to ease his guilt. The only definite thing was that their enemy was approaching, and Chi-Hyun needed to find an escape route even a second faster. Either way, he had to decide fast: would all of them stay, or would they leave without his brother?

“Hyung…” There were countless words he wanted to say, and they lingered at the tip of his tongue. Since there wasn’t much time left, however, Chi-Woo asked only one question.

“You won’t die, right?”

“…What?” Chi-Hyun raised one of his eyebrows. “Die? Who will?” He asked in a baffled tone. They began to hear loud commotions. Creatures of all sizes were coming down the mountain and thumping across the ground. And reinforcements came from not just the land, but also from above; dots in the air were gathering and coloring the sky black.

Chi-Woo gasped in horror, and Chi-Hyun looked behind him. He raised his index finger and drew a straight line in the air. Then the black things in the sky divided into two from the middle and fell. Dozens of magic circles floated all around Chi-Hyun, spinning and shining.

Bababababam! From top to bottom, the towering mountain plummeted like it was being bombarded by missiles, and both the mountain’s entrance and peak exploded. The explosions were so strong that the mountain even shifted by a great distance. The blackish ground and sky became clear in an instant. It was such an earth-shatteringly great power. Chi-Hyun lightly shook his hands and turned to Chi-Woo again. With his head tilted, he asked, “Me?”

When Chi-Woo didn’t reply, Chi-Hyun snorted. “Know your place, little brother. Just because I went easy on you last time, you think I’m at your level? Do you think I got the title of the legend by just fooling around? It seems you are misunderstanding something. Do you think I’ll be happy because you and your companions stay behind?”

“…”

“Of course not. I will get angry. I will run away with only you, not caring what happened to the others. Then, for sure, you will try to resist again, and I will have to forcibly knock you out and escape.” Chi-Hyun then asked how their relationship would become after that, and Chi-Woo couldn’t answer.

“If you want that to happen, I guess you can crawl out of that portal again,” Chi-Hyun said.

Although he spoke harshly, Chi-Woo understood what his brother was saying—that Chi-Woo would just be a hindrance if he stayed, so he should quickly return to Shalyh. Soon, Chi-Woo let out the breath he had been holding. He clenched his eyes shut tightly and opened them again.

“You aren’t lying, are you?”

Chi-Hyun smirked. “Have I ever lied to you before?”

Chi-Woo shook his head. No, there was never a time. His brother kept all the promises he made, and because of that, Chi-Woo decided to believe his brother this time too. His brother would surely come back alive.

“Good.” Chi-Woo cleared his throat. “Hyung, you should listen carefully too,” Chi-Woo said clearly while clutching his brother’s hands. “If you come back safely without a single injury and if you’re on time, I will give you a prize.”

“A prize,” Chi-Hyun tilted his head and laughed humorlessly. “It’s fine. It’s probably that special lunchbox or something. I won’t fall for it again—”

“I have snacks.”

Chi-Hyun stopped.

“I actually have one more box of crackers. It’s not crushed like the last one, but completely intact.”

Chi-Hyun gulped.

“How is it? I bet you want to eat it. Don’t you want to come back to Shalyh as fast as you can to eat it?”

The brothers felt too embarrassed to speak openly or say everything that was in their hearts, yet they understood each other well. Chi-Hyun laughed with his mouth open wide and nodded in the end.

“…Okay, I got it.” Chi-Hyun shook off Chi-Woo’s hand and said, “Now, go.” Their tightly clasped hands separated, and as Chi-Woo was sucked into the portal, he saw his brother’s back as Chi-Hyun faced the hordes of Sernitas rushing towards him.

“As soon as you return, tell Ismile…!”